


Giving Enough

by sanctuary_for_all



Series: Partners [60]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Feels, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-28
Updated: 2019-04-28
Packaged: 2020-02-08 17:12:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 940
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18627643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sanctuary_for_all/pseuds/sanctuary_for_all
Summary: The important part of the picture was Steve, who was gazing at Danny with such open warmth and affection— No. Those were inadequate words for what he was seeing. This was love, pure and simple, and it hurt to look at.Seeing it now, Danny can't fathom how he could have possibly missed it back then. He must have beenblind.





	Giving Enough

The text from Kono was simple. _Going thru old phone pix and found this. Safe to share it now._

Danny, well-trained by siblings both blood and found, expected something embarrassing. He would have remembered if they'd drawn on him, but there were any number of things you could do to a sleeping person that didn't leave any evidence. That was why you took the photo in the first place – so you had something to blackmail them with later.

When he looked at the tiny preview picture, though, all he could see was he and Steve sitting at the old team conference table. It was his first year with the team – he could tell by the fact he was wearing a tie – but he couldn't see anything embarrassing about it. He touched the picture, wanting a closer look, and the image Kono sent him filled the screen.

When it did, Danny lost his breath. His younger self looked normal, clearly ranting animatedly about something Danny couldn't remember. Here, though, he didn't matter. The important part of the picture was _Steve_ , who was gazing at Danny with such open warmth and affection— No. Those were inadequate words for what he was seeing. This was love, pure and simple, and it hurt to look at.

Seeing it now, Danny couldn't fathom how he'd possibly missed it back then. He must have been _blind_.

He was still caught up in yelling at his younger self when Steve came up behind him. He leaned over Danny's shoulder so he could get a closer look at the picture, and Danny could _feel_ the exact moment Steve focused on his own face. They were both utterly silent, a few moments that felt like an eternity, then Steve finally let out a breath. "Probably good I didn't see that back then," he said quietly. "With evidence like _that_ staring me in the face, even I would have been able to put a label on what I was feeling."

Not for the first time, Danny fiercely wished he'd known about Steve's feelings so much earlier than he had. "I'm sorry."

"Why?" There was nothing but confusion in Steve's voice. "I'm the one who decided to sneak a peek at whatever put that look on your face."

"Not for that." Danny turned around to look at the man he loved. "For back then. I know how much it sucks to love someone who you think doesn't love you back." He'd been sinking even in those early days, deeper than he could have possibly fathomed at the time, but he hadn't been far enough to make the kind of face Steve was flashing in the picture. And he'd pretended to far less, desperate to convince himself his walls were holding the way they were meant to.

If anything, Steve looked more confused. "But you did love me."

Danny made an exasperated noise. "We know that _now_. But I sure as hell wasn't making _this_ face at you." He gestured to the phone, throat tightening. Yeah, he'd suffered his own round of dumbass pining, but in a way that had been his own damn fault. If he'd just kissed Steve then, they could have been together _months_ before they'd managed it. Maybe even years. "We both know I can be hell even on my best days. And I wasn't giving you much back then."

Now Steve was looking at him like he was nuts. "Danny, even back then I'd never had anybody love me the way you did. Cath and I were both better than we should have been at giving each other space, but you were in my face about everything."

He loved his husband with every bone in his body, but that didn't mean he _understood_ him at all. "Most people see that as a _negative_ quality of mine, Steven."

"Then those people have no idea what it's like to spend most of their lives alone." Steve's voice was so solemn that Danny wanted to kiss him immediately and stop him from thinking about anything even vaguely depressing. But this was a Therapy™ moment, and Danny would respect that even if it killed him. "You were _always_ there, watching my back and worrying about me and yelling at people for me. You saw how much of a mess I was, more than I could admit to, and even though it drove you crazy it never chased you away." He let out a breath, something fragile flashing across his face. "If anything, it made you be there _more_."

He would not cry. He would not cry. "I yelled at you. Constantly."

Steve shook his head. "You harassed me, which anyone who knows you knows is your love language. Big difference."

Yes, he remembered what he'd said, but to resist at this point would have been _superhuman_. Danny dragged Steve down into a kiss, pouring everything he was feeling into it. He'd always shown his heart better than he talked about it, and he never wanted Steve to doubt for a _second_ how much Danny loved him.

When they broke apart, Steve's face shone. "Back then, I wouldn't have even _imagined_ this could be an option," he murmured. "But you were so... you that I still didn't want to let you leave my house even though you didn't appreciate the ocean like you should. You gave me so much, Danny, even back then. Never think you didn't."

Blinking hard against stinging eyes, Danny pulled him down into the tightest hug he could. "You're just trying to make me cry, aren't you?"

Steve tightened his arms around him. "You've discovered my evil plan."

**Author's Note:**

> Come check out my [original fiction,](https://jennifferwardell.wixsite.com/mybooks) my [blog,](http://jennifferwardell.blogspot.com) or say hi to me on [Tumblr](http://sanctuaryforalluniverses.tumblr.com)!


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